Lithium diphenylphosphide is used commercially to, e.g., to remove a hydroxyl group in organic and in inorganic chemical synthesis or as a ligand in organometallic catalysis. Typically the lithium diphenylphosphide is provided in tetrahydrofuran as a solvent. Such commercially available solutions of lithium diphenylphosphide in tetrahydrofuran are available, but these are not very stable and thus are, not commercially viable. New and stable formulations of diphenylphosphide are necessary.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,866,720 discloses alkali metal diarylphosphides formed by mixing triarylphosphine with, and preferably introducing triarylphosphine into, a two-phase mixture one or more alkali metals, preferably a mixture or alloy of sodium and potassium, in an anhydrous organic liquid diluent in the presence of molecular hydrogen. To form a cycloalkyldiarylphosphine, at least a portion of the reaction mixture as in the aforementioned process (or alkali metal diarylphosphide recovered therefrom) and cycloalkyl mesylate or tosylate are mixed together and maintained under suitable reaction conditions. The latter reaction is driven by the presence of residual sodium from the first reaction. Conduct of the latter reaction under a hydrogen atmosphere suppresses undesirable side reactions.